1 September 1914

Editors complain over a lack of news

There is considerable frustration among local newspaper editors at the lack of information forthcoming from the recently established official British Press Bureau.

With such momentous events presently taking place on the Continent, it is understandable that Islanders are relying on the newspapers to bring them the very latest war news. So there is considerable frustration among local newspaper editors at the lack of information forthcoming from the recently established official British Press Bureau.

The Island’s newspapers receive their national and international news from official agencies via the telegraph network. Since the start of the war, Britain’s policy has been to supress independent reporting of events at the front, and supply limited but officially sanctioned news despatches instead.

Ironically, it seems that editors are receiving more information on what is going on from the press bureaus of the enemy than they are from British sources.

Editors are now also having to take care over how they report local military matters. The new Defence of the Realm Act (DORA) contains regulations restricting what can be published. It states that, ‘no person shall without lawful authority publish or communicate any information for disloyal purposes…’ The consequences for doing so include the death penalty.

Letter from the Lieutenant Governor to the Bailiff requesting the registration of the Second Defence of the Realm Act. Jersey Archive Reference: A/E/8/21